Monday, May 08, 2017

As to be expected, anti-lgbtq evangelical groups are play the martyr and beating the somber tambourine over Trump's former nominee for Army Secretary, Mark Green. Green withdrew his name last week after a firestorm over comments he made in the past, include comments bashing the transgender community, the Islamic community, and evolution.

However, leave it to anti-lgbtq hate group the Family Research Council to claim that Green was a "victim" of anti-Christian bias:

What does evolution theory have to do with the Army? A lot, if you want to be the branch's secretary. That's just one of the fights the Left picked over Donald Trump's choice to lead the Army. Dr. Mark Green's beliefs on everything from creation to sexuality became the subject of a nasty campaign to discredit the respected flight surgeon -- a campaign, unfortunately, that ended Friday when Green withdrew his name from consideration.

"Due to false and misleading attacks against me, this nomination has become a distraction," Green said. "Tragically, my life of public service and my Christian beliefs have been mischaracterized and attacked by a few on the other side of the aisle for political gain."

LGBT activists, in particular, were upset that Green supported privacy laws like North Carolina's and the view of marriage that Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and even Barack Obama held at one point. To them, that was an unacceptable change from former Army Secretary Eric Fanning -- who not only identified as gay, but openly used his power to advance that agenda in the military. (How convenient that Fanning wasn't put under the same scrutiny when he was nominated!) Green, on the other hand, was maligned, misquoted, and mistreated by liberals desperate to keep a pro-family, pro-gun, pro-freedom, pro-marriage leader from a position of military authority.

But if being a conservative disqualifies Green from public service, then Washington is going to be a pretty empty place. A group of 11 congressmen, led by Marine vet Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), tried to defend Green, writing in a letter to Senate leadership that "Any attempt to politicize personal statements or views that have been expressed by Mark at any point throughout his career must not be allowed to supersede his qualifications or be conflated to create needless uncertainty with his nomination." But it was too late. The Left's crusade against the West Point grad, Tennessee state legislator, and longtime conservative had already taken its toll.

"I think there is a movement to target people of faith who are being nominated," Tennessee Lt. Governor Randy McNally told the Washington Examiner. "They want their own, either agnostics or people who are non-Christians. 'They' being the Democratic Party." FRC's own Army vet, Lt. General Jerry Boykin (Ret.) knows what it's like to be in the cross-hairs because of your Christian views. Sadly, he said, liberals have become "so powerful, and so vicious, that it's getting hard to find good people like Mark Green to run for office or engage in public policy because of the lies and hateful attacks they will have to endure." And the military in particular needs strong leaders with the stomach to stand up for what's right.

Just stop it already. The controversy over Green was not a case of anti-Christian bias. It was, in fact, a case of "foot in mouth" disease. Let's be honest about this situation. Green basically said dumb things which rightfully caused people to question his ability to lead. Green wasn't done harm by anyone except for his inability to keep his ego in check. He practically made it easy for people to call him out, as the videos below prove. When viewing them, ask yourself is this the type of person you want leading the Army? A man who inaccurately characterizes a group of people as a "disease." and says he wouldn't follow a SCOTUS ruling simply because he didn't like it?

How They See Us: Unmasking the Religious Right War on Gay America - Now is a perfect time to revisit the 2013 booklet I published online. Before Trump taking the White House and the anti-lgbtq right was pushing the "radical homosexuals want to persecute Christians" talking point, they were heavily pushing lies, anecdotal drivel, and bad science to falsely claim that "homosexuality is a dangerous lifestyle." Like so:

Groups like the Family Research Council, the Liberty Counsel, the American Family Association, etc. are probably a bit reluctant to revisit those days, so let's reminisce. At the very least, it serves to remind folks that their claim about "protecting Christians" is much in line with the other stuff they used to push with the objective being to stigmatize the lgbtq community and undermine our attempts to gain equality for ourselves, our families, and our children.

The second half of the 2017 GLAAD Media Awards, held Saturday, will definitely be memorable thanks to fiery speeches by award recipients Debra Messing and Billy Porter. Both speeches reminded the lgbtq community what we are fighting for and why we will eventually win.

The entire list of award recipients can be seen here, including (surprise, surprise) yours truly who was honored to receive the award for 'Outstanding Blog.' I already gave a nice written speech on Facebook but I reiterate my thanks and love for all of you who have supported me through the years.

About Me

Alvin McEwen is 46-year-old African-American gay man who resides in Columbia, SC.
McEwen's blog, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters, and writings have been mentioned by Americablog.com, Goodasyou.org, People for the American Way, PageOneQ.com, The Washington Post, Raw Story, The Advocate, Media Matters for America, Crooksandliars.com, Thinkprogress.org, Andrew Sullivan's Daily Dish, Melissa Harris-Perry, The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, The Washington Blade, and Foxnews.com.
In addition, he is also a past contributor to Pam's House Blend,Justice For All, LGBTQ Nation, and Alternet.org. He is a present contributor to the Daily Kos and the Huffington Post,
He is the 2007 recipient of the Harriet Daniels Hancock Volunteer of the Year Award and the 2010 recipient of the Order of the Pink Palmetto from the SC Pride Movement as well as the 2009 recipient of the Audre Lorde/James Baldwin Civil Rights Activist Award from SC Black Pride. In addition, he is a three-time nominee of the Ed Madden Media Advocacy Award from SC Pride.